


Acclimation

by Whisper132



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-19
Updated: 2006-03-19
Packaged: 2017-10-23 15:36:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/252006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whisper132/pseuds/Whisper132
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blatant excuse to make Tachibana a pervert.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Acclimation

Shinji sat in the movie theater, watching the cat and the dog argue in dubbed-over voices. To his right, Kamio was hogging the popcorn. To his left, Tachibana An was trying to flirt with him. To Kamio’s right, Tachibana Kippei was trying to both take the popcorn away from Kamio and keep An from flirting with Shinji.

Shinji didn’t even like movies. He only came because Kamio wanted to see the show. Sitting next to Kamio wasn’t all that bad. Kamio occasionally ran his fingers over Shinji’s arm and, while it was getting grease all over Shinji’s nice blue shirt, the gesture still sent shivers up Shinji’s spine.

“Ibu-kun, could you pass me the soda?” An was holding on to Shinji’s other arm for dear life. She was probably afraid of the cute kitty cat. Rats were afraid of cats.

Shinji reached across Kamio and picked the half-drunk Coke from Kippei’s cup holder. The theater didn’t have free refills, so Kippei, as captain, was rationing out the drink. They would’ve purchased a second drink, but Shinji wanted licorice. He primarily wanted licorice because no one else in the group ate it.

“Thank you,” An said, scooting a little closer.

Shinji moved toward Kamio, digging his hip into the seat divider. There was still half an hour to go in the film before the cat and the dog found their way back to Earth and were reunited with their loving owners.

&-&

Kamio stared at Shinji’s ass. He couldn’t help it; it was a _nice_ ass. Kippei thought so too, but Kippei was more hands-on.

Shinji squawked as a hand collided with his backside. Tachibana jumped out of the way, pretending to straighten his jacket’s hood. “Is it even?” he asked Shinji.

“Tachibana-san, I don’t understand why you have to molest me in the locker room.” Shinji looked toward the other team members. They were used to this by now, though. “It could be damaging to your reputation as captain. Also, someone might see and report it to the principle, in which case you’d be expelled for sexually molesting your teammates and abusing your position as captain. Do you understand how upset Kamio would be if you were expelled? We have important matches ahead, too. You have to consider nationals. We can’t be down our Singles One if we’re going to win.”

“Shinji, you’re worrying again,” Kamio interrupted. There were several techniques to stopping Shinji when he was ranting. You always had to let him go on for a little bit, though, or he’d just start in again once your distraction failed. Kippei had yet to learn the subtle art of shutting Shinji up. Kippei had plans for silencing Shinji that really would get them kicked out of school. Maybe the black hair dye was acting as a hentai limiter for Kippei and, now that he was back to his natural blonde, his inner pervert had nothing to restrain it.

“You’re right of course,” Tachibana said, straightening. Kamio, having been with Kippei for a while now, knew that their captain was both lying and planning something. “I will save all of that for tonight. You’re both coming over.” Tachibana said things like this in his Captain Tone, which Shinji had yet to learn to ignore.

“Your sister will be there,” Shinji protested. “She’s your sister, so I don’t want to be rude to her, but, as her brother, you should be aware of her inappropriate advances. Does it run in the family? Are your mother and father this way, too?” Shinji stopped and spared a glare for Kippei. “I can’t believe such nice looking people would raise someone like Tachibana-san. With such a good environment, conversation between siblings should be open and you should be able to tell her that we’re in a relationship. I would say something, but I don’t’ think that I should intrude on a matter that is between siblings. I’m tired of her touching me, though, and if Tachibana-san doesn’t fix it soon, then I will have to address the situation myself which-”

Tachibana’s main method for quieting Shinji was to kiss him. Kamio knew that kissing didn’t work. Tachibana still hadn’t figured it out, though. That, or he didn’t care. Kamio watched Tachibana grip Shinji’s hips, pulling the slighter boy to him and sealing their lips together with a low moan. After a few moments, Shinji pulled away, his expression a little dazed, but quickly resolving.

“Tachibana-san should think before he kisses people in public. If an administrator had walked in, we both would have been taken to the office…”

Kamio stretched out a few kinks from practice and waited on the bench for Shinji to finish.

&-&

Tachibana blamed Fuji Syusuke for everything. Had the meddlesome tensai not insisted that Tachibana “recover his true tennis,” Tachibana would have happily remained a stoic and retained the ability to resist molesting his boyfriends in public. Tachibana believed that the way you played tennis reflected the way you lived. Kippei’s tennis was a violent, wild tennis. His life soon changed to reflect it. Hence, Shinji was avoiding him.

“Kippei, you should apologize to Shinji. He’s going to leave if you don’t.” Kamio sat at the end of Tachibana’s bed, swinging his legs and bumping his heels against the frame.

“I’m not going to apologize. I was well within my rights. That jerk was looking at him.” That afternoon at the street courts, some punk kid was eyeing Shinji and making Spot innuendo from the sidelines. While Kamio was happy to toss a few comments back, Tachibana casually interrupted the game, embraced Ibu from behind, slid his hand down the front of his boyfriend’s shorts, and kissed him.

Kippei rubbed his still-sore jaw. Ibu packed a really mean punch for such a slight guy.

“You didn’t have to put your hand down his pants. You just did that because you’re a freak.” Kamio smiled, taking some of the edge off the comment.

The sad truth was that Tachibana Kippei was a freak. He was, at his core, horribly possessive with inclinations toward exhibitionism. Kamio had quick reflexes and was often able to avoid Tachibana’s grasp in public, but Ibu…Ibu was right there, standing so beautiful and waiting to be claimed and defiled. It was irresistible. “He’ll just have to acclimate,” Tachibana reasoned, sitting on the bed next to Kamio. “We’ll give him a little more time.”

&-&

Shinji found himself at the movie theater, again. He was sitting between Kamio and Kippei, An having been grounded for going to the street courts without permission. Shinji was fairly certain she would sneak out and show up at some point, ruining the date, if this was a date. Shinji couldn’t tell the difference between a date and just hanging out anymore. Kamio seemed more the hang out sort, and Kippei was more the dating sort. “Tachibana-san, I want to watch the movie.” Shinji moved his leg away from Tachibana’s questing hand. “The previews are just starting and the house lights haven’t gone down. Everyone can see you. What if someone we know shows up? I should change seats with Kamio.” Shinji stood only to be pulled down again.

“Don’t worry Shinji; it’ll be okay.” Kamio patted Shinji on the shoulder and looped their arms together.

“At least Akira is normal,” Shinji grumbled, moving his leg away from Tachibana again. “Linking arms isn’t nearly as obvious as groping someone’s thigh.” He moved his leg again. “Of course, Tachibana-san is a very direct person, so it’s understandable that he’d do something direct, but he should really be making an effort to be more normal, particularly since he’s in a relationship with two normal people.”

The girl in front of them turned around and shushed Shinji. Tachibana gave Ibu’s thigh a pat. “Look who’s bothering people now,” Tachibana whispered, his words moist against Ibu’s ear.

Shinji shifted toward Kamio, ignoring Tachibana and his hand.

&-&

Saturdays, the street tennis courts swelled with novice tennis players and bored middle school regulars. Kamio went to the courts to check out the bored regulars for new moves. Tachibana went to the courts to recruit. Shinji went because he was one of the bored regulars. With such a mixture of individuals, groups separated and, oftentimes, friends didn’t reunite until later in the day, when the crowds thinned and only the truly tennis dedicated remained, battling out for court supremacy. In the throng and the din, Kamio lost sight of Tachibana and Shinji.

Losing sight of Shinji wasn’t a problem. Shinji could take care of himself. He wasn’t afraid to take his racquet out and smash someone across the nose if required. No, losing Ibu was fine. Losing Tachibana was also not something to be worried about. No one bothered Tachibana. Tachibana’s no nonsense aura created a ward around him that manifested as a three foot buffer zone between Kippei and the crowds.

The problems began when not Shinji, but _both_ Shinji and Tachibana were missing. When they both went missing, Tachibana started acting like a protective boyfriend and Shinji hit him with a racquet. Kamio knew it was going to be a racquet day when he heard someone say, “Isn’t that the guy who stuck his hand down that other guy’s pants?”

&-&

Shinji didn’t play regular tennis. Shinji played Bishie Tennis, every movement calculated to make Shinji the best looking player on the court. Unfortunately for Tachibana, this also meant that certain members of the audience said certain unsavory things during the match. Usually, the cat calls and date offers wouldn’t start until the third game in the set. Today, buffered from the Hand in Pants Incident, the comments were starting much earlier.

“You know, I don’t really go in for that sort of thing, but I can kind of understand where that guy was coming from.” It took Tachibana a moment to realize the slime in the orange hoody was actually addressing him. Tachibana didn’t think a ratty baseball cap was enough of a change that people wouldn’t recognize him as the Hands in Pants Guy, but apparently he was giving the patrons of the street courts too much credit.

Tachibana nodded in response, reminding himself that Ibu frowned on “territorial displays.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Orange Hoody laughed, waving his hands as if to stave off an oncoming accusation, “I don’t want to start groping guys or anything, but that guy out there isn’t much of a guy, you know? Look at that hair, and that skin. Bet he moisturizes.”

Tachibana knew that Shinji _did_ moisturize. Shinji used freesia scented lotion in the morning and unscented in the afternoons, before practice. Shinji used freesia scented soap after practice, moisturizer included in the formula. Occasionally, Kamio partook of the unscented before practice, though, in general, he preferred a more spicy scent and often brought his own lotions for after-practice showers. Tachibana did not moisturize unless Kamio and Shinji said he had to. The two generally took issue with Tachibana’s elbows, which had a tendency to resemble sandpaper.

Orange Hoody chuckled uncomfortably into Tachibana’s silence. “But what I really wanna know is if those two planned that little exhibition or if it was spur of the moment. You can’t pay for something that hot, you know?”

Tachibana did not know, nor did he want to hear any more about Orange Hoody’s fantasies. With a grunt, Tachibana pressed through to the inner edge of the crowd.

&-&

From somewhere in the crowd, Shinji heard Akira let out a sustained, high-pitched battle cry. A cloud of dust lifted into the air, and Kippei took off his hat, his yellow-blonde hair gleaming in the bright lights of the court. Shinji served. It wasn’t his problem if Akira got into a fight. Kamio was usually a reserved person, but he could really pack a punch if you upset him, which was probably what happened. Shinji didn’t care, though. He had a match to win.

“Take it back, you asshole!”

Shinji’s eyebrow twitched. Kamio shouldn’t use such language in a public place, it contributed to Fudomine’s low-class reputation. Kippei could sort it out, though. Kippei was the brawler and disciplinarian of the group. Kamio was the excitable one who did random, sweet things. Shinji put up with the other two and stood next to them, looking good. It wasn’t the most exciting roll to play, but it suited Shinji just fine and he got to stay close to Akira and Kippei without all the drama of being Captain or the Loudmouth. Shinji preferred being the Pretty One.

Kamio’s wail of pain distracted Shinji from returning the ball. Where was Tachibana? He should be taking care of things by now. Shinji paused, tennis ball in hand, to take a look. The brawl had spread, now encompassing a good ten people. Tachibana stood at the center, Kamio draped over his shoulder while he kicked and shoved his way out. Shinji served again. He was going to win quickly and go home. Kamio would want a bath and Tachibana would insist that all three of them get in the tub, even though it left little room for water. Shinji would complain, but not too much. Tachibana had strong hands, good for massages. Kamio’s hands weren’t as strong, but they were equally as skilled.

The serve was an ace, much as Shinji expected it would be. No one who came to the street courts had enough skill to properly challenge Ibu Shinji. Shinji liked to play with his opponents, though, let them think that they stood a chance against him, then crush them mercilessly. Shinji especially liked it when his opponents fell to the ground, crying.

The din of the crowd grew and, when Shinji looked over, he couldn’t see Tachibana’s hair. Something was wrong. “If he dropped Kamio, then nationals are ruined. Tachibana-san likes to be heroic, but he doesn’t understand that he needs to look toward the future before he acts.” Shinji headed off toward the battling crowd, his hand clenched tight around his racquet. “Why are all these people fighting in such a place as this?” Shinji’s racquet caught an approaching punk in the face. “Why would you run at someone with a racquet in his hand?” Shinji asked the fallen attacker. “I’ll have to re-string this now. Your pointy nose separated the gut too much.” Shinji made a low growl through his nose but moved forward, ignoring the beaten hoodlum in favor of a flash of yellow in his peripheral vision. “Tachibana’s hair makes it easier to spot him in a crowd, but it’s still embarrassing. He looked much better when he dyed it. Kamio doesn’t think so, though. Not that it matters what Kamio thinks, since Kamio’s passed out.”

Shinji reached the center of the mob, where Tachibana stood, straddling an unconscious Kamio. “Eh?” Shinji looked around at the mob participants. He didn’t recognize any of them. That was good, he supposed, seeing as he was going to have to beat them away from his boyfriends with his racquet. “Tachibana-san refrained from hitting anyone.” Shinji smiled, just a little. Tachibana was listening for once. Of course, Tachibana should know that there were times to listen and times to defend yourself. Now was the time for Kippei to be defending himself and Kamio, not waiting for Shinji to come save them. Shinji grabbed for a member of the mob, drawing him forward by the collar until they stood, nose to nose. “What do you want?”

“We were just teasing him about the other day. We didn’t mean anything by it, but he just kept staring at us, like he was too good to respond.”

Shinji released his captive, shoving him back into the mob with enough force to knock two others down. “Get Akira, I want to go home,” Shinji told Tachibana. “You should get out of my way if you don’t want me to hit you with my racquet. The gut’s already damaged, so it doesn’t matter if I break it a little more.” Shinji held his racquet in front of him, cutting a path through the onlookers. He heard Tachibana’s labored breathing and Akira’s sleep-wheeze behind him.

&-&

Kamio awoke, naked. This was not, by any means, an uncommon occurance, but Kamio generally recalled the removal of his clothing and the circumstances surrounding it. This time, though, he was stumped and very much alone in his bed. He was also a motley of bandages from the waist up.

“You’re awake. That’s good. Tachibana was concerned that you had a concussion and wouldn’t wake up, but it seems like you’re okay.” Shinji pressed a hand to Kamio’s forehead. Shinji, Kamio noted, was not naked. “Kippei’s trying to explain why we brought you home, unconscious, to An. We told your parents that you’re sleeping over here tonight, so they won’t worry, but An has a big mouth and will spoil everything if Kippei doesn’t think of something good to tell her. You don’t have a fever.” Shinji removed his hand.

Kamio smiled and reached for Shinji’s hand. The movement burned a little in his shoulder, but he’d had worse. “Are you gonna stay here, too?” Kamio was in desperate need of a shower, warm pajamas, and bodies to snuggle with.

“I was going to go home, but Kippei said I had to stay or he was sending An with me.” Shinji turned and glared at the bedroom door. “Why does he make those kind of jokes? They aren’t funny.” Shinji’s hand moved to hold Kamio’s. Kamio settled a little deeper into Tachibana’s down pillows. Of the three of them, Kippei had the largest and fluffiest bed.

“He was probably really desperate to keep you here.” Kamio lifted the covers and patted the mattress beside him. “It’s late, you should be naked and sleeping next to me.” Kamio doubted Shinji would comply with the first request, but the second was a sure win.

To Kamio’s surprise, Shinji slid his clothes off, folded them neatly, then slipped into the bed. “I read that body heat transfers better between unclothed bodies,” Shinji explained. “When your teeth stop chattering and you stop shaking, I’m going to put pajamas on.” Shinji’s eyes narrowed as he looped his arm over Kamio’s waist and curled a leg around Kamio’s. “Just because I’m keeping you warm doesn’t mean we’re going to do weird things. Just stay still and get warm.”

Kamio shifted so Shinji’s hip wasn’t pressing into a bruise. “I’m too sore to do anything other than collapse, Shinji.” Kamio wiggled a bit. “But, if you want, you could help me warm up a little more.”

Shinji shifted so he was looking down at Kamio’s crooked smile. “Don’t tell Kippei.”

“Not a word,” Kamio assured, sliding his legs wide, inviting.

&-&

The first thing Tachibana noticed when he entered his room was the smell of sex. The second thing he noticed were two naked boys in his bed, one fast asleep and the other reading one of Tachibana’s sports manga.

Kamio set the manga down and motioned Tachibana over. “He’s a little tired, so try not to wake him.”

“Why’s he so tired,” Tachibana grumbled. “We’re the ones that got in a fight.”

“He had a match today.” Kamio carefully scooted Shinji over so Tachibana had a little more space.

“He didn’t play seriously.” Tachibana disrobed, tossing his clothing behind him, and sat down on the side of the bed, looking down at Shinji. “He really messed up his racquet today, didn’t he?”

“You should pay to get it fixed. He’ll have to start work delivering groceries for Amane-san’s shop again if you don’t help him.” Kamio reached out and ran his hands through Shinji’s hair. Shinji gave a small snort, but did not wake.

“We’ll take him in the morning.” Tachibana’s hands joined Kamio’s, trailing through silken hair. “It’s too bad he’s asleep, I convinced An to go to a friend’s house for the night.” Tachibana sighed. “You’re also injured. No fun tonight, I guess.”

“It’s only a little bump to my shoulder. I’m fine.” Kamio’s hand left Shinji’s hair in favor of a quick jaunt along Tachibana’s arm. “You were good today. You should be rewarded.”

Tachibana smiled and let out a small hiss when Kamio’s hand began to drift across his chest. “I should, but we’ll wake Shinji.”

“Weren’t you the one who said he needed to get used to it?” Kamio moved until he was on his hands and knees, a human bridge over Shinji’s slumbering form. “If he wakes up, we’ll just help him adjust.”

Tachibana could have protested, could have come to Ibu’s defense, but Kamio’s lips were so very convincing and it had been a long day. “Aah, he’ll get used to it.” Then speaking was lost in favor of feeling and the anticipation of the moment Shinji woke up and Tachibana and Kamio could sway their beloved into another night of beautiful vice.


End file.
